• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
No Result
View All Result

Alex Jones ordered to pay $4m in damages for Sandy Hook hoax claims

August 5, 2022
Reading Time: 5 mins read
ShareShareShareShare

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $4.1m (£3.3m) in damages after falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

The parents of a victim have sought at least $150m in the Texas defamation trial against the Infowars founder.

They said they endured harassment and emotional distress because of the right-wing host’s misinformation.

Twenty children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

The jury in the city of Austin decided compensatory damages on Thursday, and must still determine any punitive damages.

Jones – who was not in court when the outcome was announced – has repeatedly argued that the shooting was a hoax organised by the government in order to strip Americans of gun ownership rights, and that the parents of the dead children were “crisis actors”.

He has already lost a series of defamation cases brought by parents of the victims by default after failing to produce documents and testimony.

But this is the first in which financial damages were agreed by a jury.

The case was brought by Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the separated parents of six-year-old Jesse Lewis, who died in the school shooting.

Ahead of Thursday’s decision, a lawyer for the plaintiffs revealed that Jones’ lawyer had inadvertently sent him two years of texts from his client’s phone.

The attorney said a congressional panel investigating last year’s US Capitol riot had already requested access to the messages. The committee has said Jones helped organise a rally that took place just before the riot.

Despite retracting his claims about Sandy Hook, Jones has continued to use his platform to attack jurors and the judge in this case.

He also claimed he was bankrupt despite evidence that his companies were earning about $800,000 dollars a day selling diet supplements, gun paraphernalia and survivalist equipment.

During the emotionally charged two-week trial, Jones portrayed the case as an attack on his free speech rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

“Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for,” lawyers for the families countered in their opening arguments.

Testifying on Wednesday, Jones acknowledged the Sandy Hook attack was “100% real” and apologised for having “hurt these people’s feelings”.

But in her testimony, Mrs Lewis addressed Jones in court, saying: “Jesse was real… I’m a real mom.”

She went on to say it is “incredible to me that we have to do this”.

“That we have to implore you – not just implore you, punish you – to get you to stop lying,” she continued, adding: “It is surreal what is going on in here.”

Mr Heslin said that Jones’ lies “tarnished the honour and legacy” of his son, adding that he had gone through nearly 10 years of “hell” since the attack.

According to lawyers for the parents, they were forced to hire private security for the trial out of concern that followers of Jones could seek to harm them.

One forensic psychiatrist testified that the parents were suffering from “complex post-traumatic stress disorder” similar to what battlefield soldiers or victims of child abuse endure.

Lawyers for the parents accused Jones of trying to hide evidence, and argued that he had committed perjury when he denied sending messages related to the Sandy Hook attack.

Jones’ Infowars parent company, Free Speech Systems LLC, declared bankruptcy last week. The outlet has been banned by YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for hate speech, but continues to operate.

Other wild conspiracies pushed by Jones include that the US government is creating floods and tornados as “weather weapons” and that chemicals in drinking water are making frogs homosexual.

Lawyer Mark Banston, who represented the parents in the case, told reporters outside court on Thursday that his clients were not disappointed with the sum awarded by the jury.

“We aren’t done folks,” the attorney was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

“We knew coming into this case it was necessary to shoot for the moon to get the jury to understand we were serious and passionate. After tomorrow, he’s going to owe a lot more.”

Source: BBC
ShareTweetSendSend
Previous Post

Citi Breakfast Show, Friday 5th August 2022

Next Post

Gender Minister-nominee, others to be vetted two weeks before Parliament resumes

Related Posts

Technology

Twitter bans Alex Jones and Infowars for abusive behaviour

September 7, 2018
Technology

Twitter suspends Alex Jones for one week

August 15, 2018
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
International

Twitter will not ban InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones

August 8, 2018
Next Post
Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joe Osei Owusu (L)

Gender Minister-nominee, others to be vetted two weeks before Parliament resumes

TOP STORIES

24 cocoa licensed buying companies indebted to COCOBOD

January 31, 2023

Ghana stagnates on Corruption Perceptions Index; scores 43 for third time

January 31, 2023

Deadline for debt exchange program moved to February 7 with new terms

January 31, 2023
Load More
ADVERTISEMENT
Citinewsroom – Comprehensive News in Ghana

CitiNewsroom.com is Ghana's leading news website that delivers high quality innovative, alternative news that challenges the status quo.

Archives

Download App

Download

Download

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT